New Pi Look
so it's about time I updated his look and hey look ma I'm actually nailing down details rather than leaving it in my head
Posted using PostyBirb
51 notes
·
View notes
Day 2: Education
The marine biology lab could hardly be described as quiet, but the noise was starting to become common place to Isiri. Various electronics kept buzzing at her sensory pores, but now that she had learned to expect them, they weren’t as much a problem as they used to be. At least not when she was at depth in the tank, or barring a surge from the machinery whenever a portal opened. The humans didn’t seem to notice it, if they did they didn’t give any indication of it, but the fields got all jumbled whenever one opened, worse when it was close by. Still, the hum was manageable for now, and the mermaid did her best to drown out the din with a song of her own. Nothing complex, just a ditty to keep her mind occupied.
It was a calm between the escapades of her comrades, and she had taken a moment to rest. At least, she was going to, until the clatter of hard boots smacked against the smooth floor of the lab. Isiri smiled, and bent her fluke to lift her up to the surface. A pop and a spooling sound greeted her at the same time a grappling hook wrapped around a beam on the ceiling, right as her head breached the water’s surface. A mere moment later, Powder’s feet landed on the deck of the tank, a grin stretched wide across her face. She took a moment to spool the length of chain back to her grappling gun, holstering it quickly as she fired off her greeting. “Hey, Isiri!”
Isiri flickered her bioluminescence with alternating shades of blue, cascading along her spots in a hypnotic rhythm. “Hello, Powder.” Isiri’s voice hummed out with her usual burbles.
“You’re not gonna believe this!” Reaching into her coat, Powder procured something Isiri had been informed was called a “book.” This one looked thinner and a lot more colorful than the ones she had seen elsewhere on Sequence Charter. “I hit the motherlode, out with the salvage corps today, I found an entire shipment of Action Man comics! A whole series set!”
Nodding along, Isiri chittered with delight, only with the energy Powder was giving her, none of the meaning. "That’s great!” She tilted her head inquisitively, her massive blue eyes scoping out the shapes on the cover. “What does it do?”
“Do?” Now Powder tilted her head, the metal in her earring jingling softly as she moved. “It’s a book. You read it-“ A slight breath stopping herself before continuing. “Right, you can’t read.”
“I don’t get the big deal.” Isiri half protested, but only to egg Powder on; the many conversations she’s had about the subject did pique her curiosity. A permanent song to have just there? It could change communication for her people. Though the lack of light would be a challenge for those with less luminescent capacities than herself.
Powder sat down on the edge of the chair she had brought up to this level of the tank so many days ago, resting her chin on her hand while she figured out how to answer that. “Well, I don’t think I’m the one to yack about big deals. But I could show you how to read. Or… at least try my best to.”
“Oh-“ She hadn’t expected that, and judging by the flush of blush against Powder’s cheeks, neither did she. “I mean, if you’d like to try, I’d give it a chance.”
“Uh-“ The response caught Powder off guard, but then a glint lit up in her bright, brown eyes. “Right, can you, uh, get closer?”
Isiri stifled a giggle, wrapping her tentacles around the edge of the tank and lifting herself out of the water, and bringing just enough of a water bubble to keep her gills flushed. She plopped herself down next to Powder’s chair, and leaned in close, wrapping another tentacle around her arm. Her voice hummed low, melodically in Powder’s ear as her eyes fixated on the strange symbols written on the book. “Is this close enough?”
Powder grinned sweetly as she turned to the first page. “Perfect.”
(OC-tober prompts by @oc-tober2023 can be found here. Powder belongs to @gi-ie-ru)
10 notes
·
View notes